Asacol HD

Anyone take Asacol HD? What do you think of it? Is it crazy expensive? Right now, I'm take 9 Asacol 400mg per day, and I mentioned to my GI that I feel like I'm popping pills every time I turn around. He gave me a bunch of samples of the HD, and a discount card. I have decent insurance, just wondering what you all think. I had a miscarriage just over a month ago, and flared after that. I feel much better now; almost in the clear (hope I didn't jinx myself there! :) ). Just sick of so many pills.

I wish I was NORMAL! Don't we all?? :)

Thanks Levi! So far, it doesn't look like very many people take it. Did you take Asacol 400mg before??

Lialda and Apriso are also once-daily mesalamine drugs, so you could check with your insurance and see which is cheaper. I believe both also have co-pay assistance programs.

juju0010 said...


Aetna Health Insurance FTW!

Seriously.

I do get 120 packets of VSL #3 DS for $50. Wonder how that would compare?

Checked my bottle.

120 pills for $30. 4 pills a day, so $30 a month, or $1 a day

Thanks everyone! My GI gave me a card for Asacol HD where supposedly I can get a month's supply for $20 or less for eligible patients. The card's not valid for prescriptions purchased under Medicaid, Medicare, other state or Fed programs, or private indemnity or HMO insurance that reimburses you for the entire cost of your prescriptions. It's a program Asacol is running through December 2010. It was pretty interesting for me, because with this offer, it would be less than what I'm paying for regular Asacol now for a month's supply. Either way, I'm checking to see what it will cost without the offer. Lialda and Apriso are interesting to me too, but my GI suggested this. Do you think some sort of kick backs for the doctors? ;)

The discount card for a 30 day supply will pay your copay or the entire price of the drug...which ever is less. They are basically paying the patients cost. I just handed it to the pharmacist instead of $125

Hopefully the generic version of Asacol will be imported from Canada when the patent runs out.

I can look up what BCBS-AZ pays for a drug. Asacol HD is exactly the same price for the same dosage as Asacol.

Asacol HD=$3.33 tablet

Asacol = $1.67 tablet

ouch

The direct kickbacks in the form of trips and cash are no longer legal...but they were. Doctors can still sell their prescription records to the drug company. Many doctors are paid as speakers by drug companies and the larger GI practices in this area make buckets of $$$$ running clinical trials from their practices. Makes you want to flair.

I have been taking the Asacol HD for a few months now. I take 1 800mg 3x a day along with 2 400mg 3x a day. I think it seems to be helping more than just the Asacol 400mg. I did have samples from the doctor so I just got the prescription filled for the first time this week. I only had to pay $40.00 but I do see that it would have cost me $338.00 if I didn't have insurance. My pharmacy had to order it because it is something they usually don't carry.

Hope this helps.

Diagnosed in 1984w/ left sided colitis
Prescribed azulfidine
Major flare in November 1990 prescribed prednisone 1 wk Also took aloe kudzu and umabushi plum. March 2004 prescribed prednisone 1 wk. rowasa asacol 400mg 3x daily. I reduced dose to 1/day or 0/day.
November 2010 Major flare. Prescribed asacol 800mg 2 tabs 3times/day.

Asacol HD 800 free 72 tabs. December discounted $50 for 180 tabs. Then in January. this prescription burnt up my entire brand discount for the year. New discount for manufacturer -$50 from over $600 script. The doctor insisted I take asacol HD 800. Insisted how cheap it would be for a year. Called manufacturer customer service who told me it would be cheaper if I had no health insurance. The medication works well now on 1 tablet /day. Very disappointed that manufacturer had doctor stop prescribing 400mg. Doctors should not support this type of deception.

My husband has been taking asacol hd 800mg 6 pills a day for roughly a year now. He also has combined that with Imuran 75mg a/day for about the same time length. He is still taking both and is in remission for the most part. The asacol hd cost $70 for a 3 month supply through MEDCO mail pharmacy. If bought at walgreens it cost $75 for a month supply with our insurance.

He developed UC from taking DOXYCYCLINE for 6 months, for the treatment of folliculitis. From what I understand, doxycycline is very similar to accutane. Which, has a class action law suit becuase of UC side effects.

Do you know how to order this med from Canada ? - Understand it is cheaper and is the same thing.

You could technically do it either way. I would personally go for one pill three times a day. I am currently taking the 400's, two pills, three times per day.

Is Asacol HD just a bigger tablet with twice as much mesalamine that standard Asacol? If so, it's a very safe drug with a low likelihood of causing negative side effects, and apparently it's very effective with many UC patients. It didn't really work for me, however. Maybe I should give it another spin, I remember reading that people who used Asacol over the long-term had a lower likelihood of developing colon cancer, and perhaps other serious illnesses, that are associated with individuals who have UC.